Our Thankful Tree

Thankfulness is a big deal to me. I definitely want it to be a big deal to my kids as well. I heard about the "Thankful Tree" several years ago. I finally got my bootie in gear this year and made it happen. I want thankfulness to be a habit around the Evans Home, not just around Thanksgiving. As parents, it is OUR job to teach it, encourage it and model it. It doesn't hurt if there is paint involved too! :)

I know what you're thinking: "WOW! I've never seen purple & blue leaves before!" You guessed it! Shaefer's favorite color is purple so she INSISTED on purple leaves for all of her "thankfuls". And you know Trey, if Shaefer gets purple leaves, then he HAS to have blue ones! I love it!

We had a great time with this craft! I look forward to keeping the leaves each year to see how their "thankfuls" evolve as they grow up.

Most importantly, we are thankful for Jesus! He is our everything!

We are nothing without Him!

Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!

Thanks Amanda for another AWESOME idea!

Cute Gappy Trey

Sunday night ended up being a big night at the Evans House! We were sitting around the overstuffed table with family and friends eating spaghetti & meatballs...and Trey's favorite...garlic bread. The next thing I know I hear Trey say, "MOM!! My tooth is coming out!!" At first he was a little startled by the whole experience. It probably didn't help that he had at least 8 pairs of eyes staring at him, all waiting for the "big event"! Because being the center of attention makes Trey extremely nervous, he and I excused ourselves to the bathroom. By that time he thought all the blood was cool! :) I was getting my "tool" ready (my mom always used a washcloth to pull our teeth), when I heard Trey say, "Look mom!! It's out!!" All he had to do was push a little with his tongue and that cute little baby tooth came right out. I guess it was ready! I know Trey was WAY ready!

He made SURE I took some pictures and immediately asked if I was going to post them on Facebook. He told me, "This is a big deal! Everyone needs to know I lost my 1st tooth!"

HA! Kids these days! :)

Did I mention he was EXCITED and PROUD?!?!

My Boy is 8!!

I CANNOT believe I am a mom to an 8 year old!! It feels like yesterday I was swaddling him and rocking him to sleep. Sometimes, on a rare day, Trey will curl up in my arms and ask me to tell him all about when he was born and what he was like as a baby. I LOVE those days! I cherish those days! Walk down memory lane with me:

We lived in St. Louis when we got pregnant with Trey. We were youth pastors (on a tight budget :)) so one of our youth girls offered to take some pregnancy pictures for us.

Here I am, 9 months pregnant! Later that afternoon, we met some friends at a local pumpkin patch. I have a picture of Alf pushing me around in a wheelbarrow. My belly fit right in! Trey was born 1 week later!

Alf was feeling left out, so he thought he needed a belly pic too! :)

The boys showed up with gifts!! We had Mountain Dew flowing like a river in our hospital room!! And of course, Trey received his first set of jumper cables from Uncle Matt.

Baby Trey, one day old.

He is being held by an old co-worker, Joni. I had two co-workers claim to be grandmothers so they could get past the nurses. It worked!

I was SO blessed by all the visitors!

Who can resist baby feet?

Our first family portrait!

We have LOTS of sleeping pictures!

Trey - my big 2 year old!

Trey - my big 2nd Grader!

Trey was born on Halloween night, so we always have a great time! Up until a few years ago, he thought all the festivals, costumes and trick-or-treating were all for him! We spent this weekend celebrating with family and close friends. Trey is such a blessing! My life is forever changed for the better. He makes me want to be better.

Golden Goodness

The Chronicles of Narnia movies are some of our favorites around here. We've seen each one numerous times, sometimes daily! :) The kids enjoy the story, the characters and the animals. Alf and I enjoy those things too, however, we are in love with the story of Jesus Christ (as Aslan the Lion) that is told through each one.

Once we decided to homeschool, I KNEW these books were first on our reading list! We are on book 2 of 6 right now. Trey and I are enjoying reading through these together. He is always quick to point out where the book and the movie don't match up! :) I told him that they can't always do everything the book says or else the movie would be WAY too long. Luckily, that answer was sufficient! The awesome thing about reading these books out loud to each other (besides the obvious reading practice) is that we can talk through it together. Even more importantly I can explain why some passages stick out to me or make me cry when I read them. Because the stories are ultimately pointing to Jesus, I've had more than a few emotional reading sessions. I've included one section below that really struck my heart:

"Both the children were looking up into the Lion's face as he spoke these words. And all at once (they never knew exactly how it happened) the face seemed to be a sea of tossing gold in which they were floating, and such a sweetness and power rolled about them and over them and entered them that they felt they had never really been happy or wise or good, or even alive and awake, before. And the memory of that moment stayed with them always, so that as long as they both lived, if ever they were sad or afraid or angry, the thought of all that golden goodness, and the feeling that it was still there, quite close, just round some corner or just behind some door, would come back and make them sure, deep down inside, that all was well."

The Magician's Nephew (Book 1) by C.S. Lewis

Trey looked concerned as tears rolled down my face as I read this section to him a few weeks ago.

"Are you sad?" Trey asked.

I said, "No sweetie. These words struck me because this is how I feel about Jesus. I am nothing without Him. There is no good in me without Him. From the second I asked Him into my heart many years ago, He has never left me...and He never will."

It was such a sweet time with my son! I love sharing these times with him!

Dance & Gymnastics

The kids began their "fall sports" last week at the local rec center. Trey told me he wasn't all that into sports, that he prefers to play with Legos, but he would give gymnastics a try again. He is a funny kid and turns out that he's pretty darn good at gymnastics to boot! Shaefer, on the other hand, has been talking about taking a dance class for AT LEAST 6 months. She is taking ballet and tap and is BEYOND excited to wear her "tappy-tap" shoes!

Trey just got these sunglasses and flip-flops from one of our friends and was determined to wear them to his first class. For some reason he feels the need to flash the peace sign in all of his pictures! :)

I'm pretty sure there is nothing cuter than a 3 year old in her first leotard & dance tights!

Shaefer gave me very specific instructions: "Mommy, take my picture! I'm a dancing princess!"

I'm not sure why I torture myself with attempting to get a decent picture of them together! I think it's every mom's dream! HA!

Even though they were being crazy, this is one of my FAVS of them! That is a sister that LOVES her bubba! I can still hear that laugh...

On the balance beam...

Dismount!

This kid has SO MUCH energy! Love him!

I know you are wondering where the pictures are from Shaefer's class. I was shocked (and sad!) to find out that her class is closed to the parents. We peeked in the little window at her...she was doing GREAT! You better believe I will be snapping pictures like crazy come recital time!

First Day of 2nd Grade

I wanted to share our first day of homeschool with you! We made it! There is a summer-long story behind our decision, but that is for another day!

Today we celebrate with pictures!

Here is our big 2nd grader!

Of course Shaefer Kay had to join in on his big day!

Trey got to choose breakfast... glazed donuts!

Shaefer thoroughly enjoyed her donut holes!

We couldn't get started until they had their morning wrestle!

Here is our school table!

This is the most familiar spot for both of us, so we will start here. I don't expect to spend too many days here as we get more comfortable.

I love the freedom to learn where ever we want to!

Getting ready to begin!

Shaefer LOVED her special spot with her special things!

Gettin' his school on!

We were able to celebrate Trey's big day at his favorite dinner spot: CHILI'S!! It was a great ending to a great day!! Don't get me wrong...it was FAR from perfect. We had 2 tearful breakdowns within the first hour. Overcoming "summer brain" coupled with the adjustment to having mommy as the teacher would probably bring any one of us to tears. The great thing was that I got to be the one to walk him through his frustration. I got to hold him as he cried. We were able to talk it out right then. We were able to move on together. I am excited to see what this year holds for us!

Until next time...

PEACE OUT!!! :)

Trey's 1st Day of 1st Grade

Trey started 1st grade today! He was SO ready and SO excited! When I think back to this time last year, he walked into the school for the first time as a Kindergartner. He has changed and grown in ways I cannot comprehend. He wasn't nervous at all this morning. He oozed confidence with a smile that could melt you instantly. He was on the lookout for nervous friends so that he could "cheer them up". God has answered so many of the prayers that we've prayed over Trey. I can't wait to see what this year hold for him and for us as a family.

Trey Update

Trey's EEG went well yesterday. We had a great technician and the time flew by. Ronnie, our tech, has been administering EEGs for 48 years and he quickly gained a report with Trey...he was definitely a "grandpa" type. :) Although Ronnie could not officially give us any results, he "unofficially" let us know that he didn't see any abnormalities during the EEG. We hope to hear from the doctor by Wednesday of next week. Thank you for your prayers!

Keep them coming though! Out little man is still pretty exhausted and had a fever today. We really need wisdom to know what step to take next. Trey is still complaining of headaches. We need to get to the bottom of this!

It's hard to "be anxious for nothing" when your child is involved...

Mommy of the Year Award

I'm just prepping myself for all the judgemental looks and comments I will be receiving in the morning as Trey and I are at Walmart at 4:00am. I am going to join the ranks of all the stellar parents out there that drag their little ones around at all hours of the day and night. I can't wait!! Here's how it all started:

Last Thursday, Trey's teacher calls and begins the conversation with, "I don't want to worry you, but..." I absolutely LOVE his teacher, but SERIOUSLY...I was instantly worried! :) She called because Trey had a mild seizure during class that afternoon. This had never happened before! I got off the phone, picked Trey up from school and quickly called the doctor. (Keep in mind that Trey doesn't remember a thing and is his normal, hyper self.) Upon talking to the nurse, she said it sounded like Trey had a Petit Mal Seizure and the next usual step would be to have an EEG done. Once the test was approved by the doctor, they called to schedule the test. So tomorrow at 3:00pm, Trey will have a Sleep Deprived EEG done on his little brain. He is so excited! Not so much about the test, but the fact that he gets to stay up with daddy until 11:00pm tonight. :) He's not going to love it at all when he sees my smiling face at 4:00am tomorrow morning! The trick will be keeping him awake until his test tomorrow afternoon.

I am trying not to worry. Every parent wants their child to be completely healthy all of the time. I know in my heart that God is totally in control of this situation. I know in my heart that God loves Trey even more than Alf and I do. I know in my heart that God's awesome glory will be seen in this. The battleground is my mind...I have to keep my mind in check...under submission. I cannot allow it to go to the darkest of places. That is when I go back to the truth in my heart!

I want the whole thing...

I love watching Alf and Trey interact. I may not completely understand it...but I LOVE it! :) There are times when Trey gets in a fun, feisty mood and begins to pick at Alf. It is so fun to watch! Trey will run up to him, poke him and then run away giggling. I love seeing the look in Trey's eyes like he is SO tough...like he can really take dad on. And then I hear this:

ALF: "You want a piece of this?"
TREY: "NOPE! I want the whole thing!"

Then, utter madness ensues! There is wrestling, giggling, hitting, squealing, body slamming and tons more! The joy I experience watching them is indescribable! The look in Alf's eyes that says, "Do you REALLY want to do this?". And the answer in Trey's eyes that says, "OH YEAH!!"

I want this kind of experience with my Heavenly Father. I don't just want that kind of relationship when I feel like it...when it is convenient. I want it daily. I desperately want ALL of Him. I desperately want ALL that He has in store for me. I desperately want the refinement that He offers. There will be wrestling. There will be giggles & laughter. There will be tears. There will most definitely be scars. I don't care...all I want is Him.